Category Archives: Film Review

This film made me realize a few things. Firstly, law enforcement just had it out for the necks of the members of the Black Panther Party, they exaggerated the kind of threat they were, if any, to the nation, and physically and intimidatingly acted upon such things through violence and verbal aggressions such as degradation of race and role in society and/or the supposed threat they are by just existing. I also learned that within the time of the Panthers, police were basically their rival, they did things like stick their 12-gauge shotguns to the back go their heads while arresting them for the smallest misdemeanors, just for a reason to have a go at them and make their lives even more miserable on top of everything else.

Judas & The Black Messiah – Film Review

This film was an absolute masterpiece to me. I really enjoyed and appreciated the fact that they tried to portray the events of the Panther party accurately and even have the actors resemble their given roles of the Party members, whether it be through appearances or pure amazing acting skill, the filmmakers did an amazing job breaking down and mapping out how life was for the Panthers back then so us or any audience can really grasp how tragic and unfair their conditions were. I think a conclusion I can make about the Black Panther party, to help those that haven’t heard of them understand, is that they were a group of individuals that just wanted to have a fair chance at using their rights as everyone else, and specifically the right of freedom of speech, they wanted a voice. They wanted to be heard and they wanted their message of “Stop the prejudiced violence toward our people” to get through to the outside world and evidently through so much struggle, it was heard by many, and now, that includes you.

I chose this film because I was interested in the impact that women had in Black Panther Party. Although the video is short, it shares the most significant/important information, despite the fact that it doesn’t mention all women. First, Elaine Brown, the chairwomen of the Black Panther Party (1974-1977), a writer and therefore the editor for the party paper. I like the fact that she has books sharing her experience with the Black Panthe Party. For people that want to know more about the party, this is a great opportunity, knowing that some sites may have wrong or false information. Kathleen Cleaver, a female revolutionary, was involved in the civil rights movement. I noticed that they use the influence they have to help more their community. In the other hand, Angela Davis, writer and feminist, who left the party due to misogyny she experienced. I wonder what would have happen if she stayed with the Black Panther party.

The New York Time’s Black Panthers Revisited was very informative and covers the entire background of the Black Panthers. It was an important reminder of the past goals of the Black Panther Party and the many that are still addressed today. They aimed only to eliminate all violence against African Americans from the people of power. But today, unlike in the 1960s, there are no shootouts between any protesters and police. The film helped me draw a comparison of how the movements are vastly different from what they used to be. There are no organized groups calling for armed a revolution to take place to overthrow the authorities. The increased interest in these issues have shaken black communities to the core. The main question I was wondering during the film was whether police departments and elected officials will be any more responsive to demands for change and accountability than they were 50 years ago.

Film Review of: The Man Who Armed the Panthers

As I was watching the video “The Man Who Armed the Panthers”, I was genuinely surprised to see the face of the man who supplied such an iconic representation of black power. I hadn’t thought about how the guns came to be, maybe the guns suddenly appeared, or they were from an underground market. But in actuality, they were given by a man named Richard Aoki who also happened to have been an undercover FBI informant. He was of Japanese descent, whose family came during World War II. He grew up in an impoverished black neighborhood, he was in a gang, he was a political leader who joined associations for social justice, and was in the army.

So the genuine question is how can someone with such a complex story play on both teams? Maybe it was a strategy, to gain insight from both sides. However, its truly sad that we will never hear any of these details, from either the FBI who supposedly say they have no intel on him, to the Black Panthers who refuse to comment on him and Aoki himself as he, unfortunately, took his life in 2009, leaving two pressed uniforms in his room: an army uniform and a black panther uniform. Aoki close friends have never know about his two lives, stating that he was a mystery man. Despite this, we should give our respects to a man who did his best, and who joined a revolution that has changed time. Knowing we will never know the full story reminds me of how suddenly everything can disappear, that everything is so finite, such as all the history we will never know from the past, the legends, the myths, the hundreds of files in the library of Alexandria. I hope that for any future events, everything gets recorded because this is History and History should be remembered by us, not the oppressors.

Judas and the Black Messiah: Film Review

Like many others who are often focused with trivial life things like school, work, enjoying time with family and friends, we forgot for a while about the complete social injustice there is. And then when we see it being retold, again and again: a police man shot a black man, families being kicked out of homes, racism in healthcare and impoverished communities, we snap back. I experienced such things when watching documentaries about group struggles or movies like “The Pursuit of Happiness”. So “Judas and the Black Messiah” was no exception to that, I was infuriated and completed disgusted with the legal system. But I was also completely heartbroken to see that every time we take a step forward, someone always pulls the rug and we drop and hurt bad. I wanted to shout and repeat each statement.

And the ending? It left me with disbelief but also expectation, an expectation that I learned real young, that power is for some and not for the many. The film did teach me a lot, especially about how simple life can be taken. And often then not, how simple it is to fabricate stories. But despite that, the BPP did their best with what they did. They didn’t want one group to be better than the other, they wanted everyone to be on the same page and it really showed towards the end with The Crowns who were sworn enemies with the BPP, offered a sum of money so that Fred could escape. Ultimately, there was only one idea that you can sum up of the BPP after reading and watching and learning all there is, there were for the people more than government was and ever will be. And they showed that when action is not being taken, you have to step on it and make your move. Their actions might have been very infamous especially with their use of violence, but the sentiment was still there that power is with the people: where their is power, there is people.

This video was an interview on Stanley Nelson the film that he made. Stanley Nelson talk about how he black panthers were being misunderstood. The film that he made were to explain what had happened before with the black panthers. He also talks about how music in a film are one way to make the audience feel how it was like back then. He then talks about how people might thinks black panthers party’s were something outside of civil rights but he thinks that it is part of the civil rights movement. I think making a film that talks about black panthers are a good way of explaining and stopping the misunderstanding of the party. It’s also an easier way for people now to understand and feel what it was like before.

At first I thought the movies was going to be not boring/not attractive but as it goes on I found it pretty interesting. It wasn’t just giving information about the panthers. It’s actually grabbing the audience into the movie. While watching I’m able to feel the feelings the emotions that the actors are trying to give and shown. The movie shows the leaders of the black panthers and struggles that the panthers are facing from the FBI. Throughout the whole movie the FBI is trying all different ways to kill the leaders of the panthers. They had ask the member called bill where the panthers are. The FBI went in the apartment start shooting the guns at everyone. Calling them out and then they went up to Fred who was being drugged. Fred ‘s wife who is 8 month pregnant was told to get out the the room and by the time she walked out they had killed Fred. This shows the brutality and violence of the FBI. They seems to wanting to hide something to brainwash people from thinking like the black panthers. Trying to avoid the black panthers in helping other getting their equality and rights.

The film, “These Women Were the Unsung Heroes of the Black Panther Party”, speaks about women’s contribution to the Black Panther Party and the success behind it. While media often tends to show more male leaders in the movement, the film brings a different light into the picture as women also played a significant role in the creation, success, and expansion of the party. Elaine Brown, chairwoman of the Black Panther Party, founded several nonprofits (like the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform) that focused on improving the justice system. Kathleen Cleaver worked as the National Communication Secretary, however, left due to the misogyny she faced within the Black Panther Party. Angela Davis was a fighter for the Black Panther Party, advocating for the abolishment of prison. These women all played a notable role in the party but still have not been credited enough for their actions. Although they fought as equally as men did, they lack in recognition for their work.

The New York Time’s Op-Doc Black Panthers Revisited was extremely insightful. It proved to be an important reminder of how the goals of the Black Panther Party are still addressed today. In all honesty, the film left me feeling slightly upset or agitated, simply because of the striking similarities between then and now. The film was talking specifically about the protests of 2014 around the same topic, which is why I feel such frustration knowing that the protests and the need to protest has resurfaced again in 2020. Another feeling I got from this, however, is optimism, because of the increased interest in this issue by more diverse groups of people, and the large following it seems to have today. One can only hope that all this effort is not for nothing, and that one day we will achieve the goal that decades worth of generations have fought so hard for.